Under the proposed laws from the Nicotine Inhaling Products Bill, there will be a complete ban on the sale, manufacture or import of single-use or disposable vapes in Ireland. The laws will also introduce a ban on point-of-sale display or advertising in shops, other than specialist shops that only sell the products.
This comes after the Irish Cabinet approved the legislation for raising the minimum smoking age from 18 to 21 in March.
Earlier this year, the Scottish government announced its plans for a ban on the sale and supply of single-use and disposable vapes in April 2025.
The legislation will also introduce a ban on a multitude of flavours that the government believes often appeal to children as it is estimated that as many as 15,000 flavour combinations exist. Similarly, the European Council is currently considering an EU-wide flavour ban across all nicotine products, including disposable vapes. This could see a ban on all non-tobacco flavours if they are to follow Denmark.
Ireland’s Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, also wants to place restrictions on colours and imagery on nicotine-containing devices and packaging to ensure they aren’t aimed at or appeal to younger people. He added that “companies are very cynically targeting children.”
“We’d be starting with just one flavour, but the minister of the day could expand that if required. We want to say if you’re an adult, obviously, you’ll make your own decisions on this, but we want to make sure that we keep children safe.”
Mr Donnelly has said that the plans for the disposable ban are on environmental and public health grounds. The Cabinet heart that single-use vapes are relatively inexpensive and are often “an impulse purchase in shops and disproportionately used by younger people who often experiment with them.” The impact on the environment includes littering and being incorrectly disposed of in bins and there are public health concerns that the devices could be resulting in the release of toxic compounds into the environment.
Taoiseach Simon Harris welcomed the proposed ban on disposable vapes, saying that vaping is “the revenge of the tobacco industry”, and that it would specifically improve the health of young people. “We live in a country where 13% of people between the ages of 12 and 17 have vaped in the last 30 days. We need to take action in relation to that.”
Vaping Body in Disagreement with Planned Ban on Disposable Vapes
Ireland’s largest vaping trade body, Vaping Business Ireland (VBI) have called the proposals “extreme”.
Paul Malone, VBI National Spokesperson said:
“There is little evidence that a ban on flavours would lead to positive public health outcomes but lots of evidence – from around Europe and elsewhere – that banning flavours could lead to an increase in the black market and drive people back to smoking.
Research has found that 95% of people flavours and that 20% of former smokers would return to smoking if flavours were banned.”
